It depends on if your yearly payments to them exceed some threshold. There may be more to it than that, of course. Don’t listen to me, I’m the idiot who couldn’t figure it out.
For all intents and purposes, a babysitter is looked at just like a nanny in that if they must adhere to the schedule you set and come to your home to take care of your kids based on the rules you set, the IRS will most likely view this as an employment relationship. And taxes can sneak up on you quickly. If the babysitter earns just $15 per hour and works even 10 hours per week, you’ll cross the $2,700 tax withholding threshold in a little over four months.
I have a housekeeper who only comes in once a month and (I learn) is fairly inexpensive though it doesn’t seem that way. Weekly it would be way over the threshold. I assume
my lawn guy whose basic work is under that threshold —and has a business—doesn’t count either although he does other jobs as well for me and others. But that’s true of contractors generally. So I assume one just does what most people do in common situations.
